Jasper & Ollie Build a Fort

March 1, 2020
The mismatched pals from Jasper & Ollie (2019) are back. Jasper, an impulsive, know-it-all fox, and chum Ollie, a deliberate sloth, decide to hold a fort-building contest. Or, rather, Jasper decides. The duo gets down to it. Jasper speedily and haphazardly slaps together a messy, precarious, dangerous-looking structure, adding to it an extra story, duct tape, and outlandish embellishments, including a moat and a self-aggrandizing statue. In contrast, Ollie gathers proper tools, consults a blueprint, then builds a fort slowly, carefully, and logically. Surprise! When Jasper's masterpiece is revealed, it thunders to the ground, a casualty of overweight and faulty construction. Jasper's disconsolate. The very embodiment of a great friend, Ollie consoles Jasper with an invitation into an impeccably built treehouse that, as a curtain reveals, has cozy "room for two." In a most satisfying conclusion--and with an uncharacteristic admission--Jasper concedes that Ollie's fort is best, though not without adding a "Jasper" to it. This is a rollicking story of two endearing friends pitted against each other in a comical non-competition, and readers, having recognized all along that this was never really a contest, will chuckle over Jasper's raucous antics. The delightful, energetic illustrations depict Jasper's riotous efforts on spreads and recto pages; Ollie's labors appear on verso pages. Capitalized letters and onomatopoeic sound effects incorporated into the text heighten comedic appeal. Friends build a fort and an even stronger relationship. (Picture book. 3-7)

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April 1, 2020
Grades K-3 The fable of The Tortoise and the Hare gets a lively new spin in Willan's second Jasper & Ollie adventure. Two friends?Jasper, a fox, and Ollie, a sloth?decide to build a fort. But Jasper suggests that they should improve on their original idea: they should each build a fort and see whose is better. As Jasper races around at warp speed on the right-hand pages, adding to his increasingly elaborate fort (it needs a second story! a moat to keep out intruders! A ROCK-CLIMBING WALL!), Ollie, on the left-hand side of the book, slowly gathers his tools, finds a tree, and begins construction on a simple, cozy treehouse. When Jasper's imagination gets the best of him and disaster ensues, Ollie's comfortable vision?and, of course, friendship!?save the day. The story is told, graphic novel-style, through speech bubbles and sound effects, amusingly drawn in bold, energetic lines. The odd-couple friendship and the cozy conclusion will leave readers feeling just right.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)